MISSION

Earn Trust, Instill Hope, Transform Life. 

VISION

Build Slavery-Free India

Myths about Human Trafficking 

Human Trafficking and Sex trafficking are the same

According to Freedom United Human trafficking which is also known as trafficking in persons or modern slavery is, according to the U.S. State Department, an “act of recruiting, harboring, transporting, providing or obtaining a person for compelled labor or commercial sex acts through the use of force, fraud or coercion.”

No, it doesn’t differentiate rich or poor countries for that matter United States of America is also fighting Human Trafficking.

According to Freedom United, transportation isn’t required and border crossing may not be part of each case.  About 35% of those trafficked are exploited domestically, with 37% crossing borders within the same sub-region where they’re from. According to Standford Human Trafficking India Final report, in India, 90 percent of trafficking occurs domestically (intra-state or inter-state), and 10 percent occurs across national border.

Everyone is capable of tackling human trafficking by getting educated and educating other and by donating to organizations that fight against it.

No, it doesn’t discriminate age, sex, race, culture. Off late boys are the most vulnerable.

No doubt, most are men but according to UNODC 28% are women.

No, many survivors have been trafficked by their romantic partners, spouses, family members or someone trusted by the victim’s family According to The Exodus Road “In over 60% of cases, victims are familiar with their traffickers.”

No, trafficked women does it out of compulsion because of various reasons such as society, blackmail from the traffickers, to feed themselves etc.

No, a victim is bound by fear of not only the traffickers who give instructions on how to behave; they don’t always self identify and are ignorant of their rights but also from the society for being judged.

No, sex traffickers without their approval is categorized together with the voluntary sex workers and is termed as immoral by the society

Even though bonded labor had been legally abolished in 1976 the harsh truth is it still prevails, according to the Ministry of Labor and Employment of the Government of India, there are over 300,000 bonded laborers in India but because of ignorance while they are exploited they are still considered as morally accepted sectors of work.

How are we as a society responding / reacting ?

Name calling/ judging

From the past and not giving them a chance to overcome their past: In cases of sex trafficking just because of the work they were indulged in, they are called by various insulting names which would cause additional trauma due to abuse. Insults like name calling and using references from their past make them feel like outcasts who don’t belong to the community and rather fit better in the trafficking ring.

A victim is constantly reminded of their painful experiences from the past when they are asked about the things that happened to them. Instead of empathizing with their trauma some people would blame the victim for getting trafficked and question why weren’t they cautious and how did they end up like that making them travel back to the past every now and then.

Judgment and Acceptance

This is where we go wrong, instead of listening  and understanding  their painful stories we jump into conclusion. There is a saying not to judge a book by its cover but unfortunately it doesn’t work with us as society  because we are too quick to judge. This is actually making it  harder for the victims to rehabilitate and adjust with society and ends up getting re victimized.

A victim needs assurance and acceptance to recover  from all the traumas they have gone through but only 5% out of 100 people in the society shows acceptance towards them, which make them feel like an outcast, putting the blame on themselves. When  we read cases about survivor champions, we see how acceptance can help a victim to fight against human trafficking  which implies the power of acceptance and we as a society lacks in this area.

Deny jobs / second chance

A lot of re-victimization happens because they are not accepted in any jobs which leaves them with the only option left to them that is going back to where they come from.

Families deny their return or accept the victim due to self-disgust /shame or social pressure.

We know how to stop the cycle of trafficking.
And with your help, we will.